OVERNIGHT DEFENSE: Defense bill set for House vote

by Jeremy Herb and Carlo Munoz - 05/17/12 9:35 PM ET

The House still debated a separate Afghanistan amendment on
Thursday from Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), which was one of the early battles
in the 142 amendments the House plans to get through Thursday and Friday.

The main event of the defense authorization floor debate is
poised to be the fight over an amendment from House Armed Services ranking
member Adam Smith (D-Wash.) to bar indefinite detention for terror suspects
captured on U.S. soil.

{mosads}Smith and Armed Services Chairman Buck McKeon (R-Calif.)
have been battling on indefinite detention the whole week, with each side
trotting out a list of national security experts as they try to convince
members to side with them.

The debate is intriguing because the amendment is backed by
liberal Democrats as well as libertarian-leaning Republicans, including Reps.
Justin Amash (R-Mich.) and Ron Paul (R-Texas). Smith and Amash have expressed
some optimism they can get the votes to pass it.

The detainee amendment debate was expected to occur later
Thursday, with a vote on the amendment Friday.

Fights unlikely to
derail bill: Every year there are fights about the defense authorization
bill. And every year, the bill passes — it’s been signed into law for 50
years straight. Whether or not the detainee amendment
passes, it’s unlikely it will stop the bill from passing the House. Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.)
pointed out Wednesday that his amendment is about fixing last year’s NDAA, not
the current bill. A final vote on passage is expected Friday.

Looking ahead at the
NDAA: Once the House passes the defense authorization bill, it will get a
break as the Senate crafts its version of the NDAA. The Senate Armed Services
Committee is scheduled to mark up the bill next week in a closed-door hearing.
Among the biggest issues where the two sides are expected to disagree: the
overall size of the defense budget, an East Coast missile site, and two
provisions dealing with same-sex marriage and the military.

A weekend of G-8 and
NATO: President Obama is hosting world leaders this weekend at the Group of Eight and
NATO Summits. The G-8 Summit starts at Camp David on Friday, where the leaders
are expected to discuss European financial issues, as well as the upcoming P5+1
group nuclear talks with Iran.

The focus will then shift to Afghanistan on Sunday for the
NATO Summit in Chicago. National security adviser Tom Donilon said Thursday
that Obama would be meeting with Afghan President Hamid Karzai one-on-one
Sunday, two weeks after the two leaders signed a strategic partnership
agreement that establishes a U.S. presence in Afghanistan through 2024.

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta will also be attending the
summit.

There are a host of issues to be discussed at the NATO
conference, including how much money NATO countries will contribute to the
Afghan security forces after 2014, the size of the Afghan security force and
the size of the post-2014 NATO force.

One weekend wild card: New French President François
Hollande, who campaigned on withdrawing French troops from Afghanistan in 2012.

Other fireworks
possible: What would a meeting of world leaders be without protests? Unlike
G-8, which is now being held at the secluded Camp David (it was originally
going to be in Chicago, too), there are plenty of protesters gearing up for the
NATO summit. There were already reports
of protests on Thursday outside Obama’s campaign headquarters and countries’
consulates in Chicago; it will be interesting to see how Chicago Mayor Rahm
Emanuel — Obama’s former chief of staff — handles the protesters.

Joint Staff director to talk strategy: Lt. Gen. George Flynn, director of the Joint Staff, is
speaking at the Center for Strategic and International Studies Friday afternoon
for the think tank’s Military Strategy Forum. Flynn will giving a keynote
address on the Joint Staff’s Joint Operational Access Concept.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

— U.S. pledges $70
million for Israel’s Iron Dome.
— Iran sanctions stall
(again) in Senate.
— Kucinich makes unsuccessful attempt to
block drone strikes.
— Full Appropriations Committee passes
Defense bill.
— GOP nixes
amendment to accelerate Afghan withdrawal.
— Obama campaign focuses on military
families.
— US Court says indefinite detention unconstitutional.
— Senate takes
up Law of the Sea treaty.